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Shirley Horn's meeting with a string section and an orchestra arranged by Johnny Mandel has some exquisite moments although sometimes it is just overly sweet. Horn recorded with her trio (which includes bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams) first, emphasizing slow ballads. Mandel used the pianist-vocalist's improvisations and chord voicings as the basis for his charts and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis took guest solos on "A Time for Love" and "Quietly There." Shirley Horn fans will love this CD (which includes such numbers as "Here's To Life," "How Am I To Know" and "If You Love Me") but no real surprises or contrast occurs.© Scott Yanow /TiVo

Since the late 2000s, American-born, London-based alt-rock outfit Cage the Elephant have had a prolific output of material that has traversed an eclectic array of style and sound; initially delivering accessible pop song structures laden with bluesy, punk-infused vocals and guitar work alongside a somewhat defiant Iggy Pop-esque attitude, the band eventually arrived at a more psychedelic sound with its 2015 effort, Tell Me I'm Pretty. The latter proved to be more akin to the bright hedonism and transparent honesty, identifiably representative of Jim Morrison and the Doors, all packed into a sleek production package, albeit not shy of the grit and fuzz of the garage rock aesthetic, harnessed by producer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Here, Cage the Elephant present their second live record, aptly entitled Unpeeled, a 21-track belter of stripped-back, alternate versions of popular cuts from their back catalog, without losing any of the aforementioned grit or attitude. Consisting of live recordings from various venues across the States in support of Tell Me I'm Pretty, a lot of it hardly sounds live at all (in the best sense); the band's performances are tight, unwavering, and flawless in their execution. Unpeeled is a long live album, but the band manages to arrest the listener by taking twists and turns in each song performance. It's a consistently good listen, although there are of course highlights; tracks such as "Punchin' Bag," "Trouble," and "Shake Me Down" are concrete reminders of the group's penchant for lyrical storytelling and affinity for hooks and melody, powerfully translated here with an organic setup. A lot of moments also bring to mind some of the techniques used on the Beatles' Revolver, with prominent and effective use of what sounds like live double-tracking and tape delay. The last third of the record shines the best; live favorite "Come a Little Closer" is punctuated with a beautifully rich and resonant string accompaniment, while penultimate track "Cigarette Daydreams" begins with Matt Shultz filling up the venue with his howling vocals atop a sonorous lone acoustic guitar before the rest of ensemble comes in; pronounced, tightly wound snares and kick drum carry the rest of the song alongside forlorn strings and piano, before a skin-crawling middle-eight section in which the audience sings the song's main refrain ("You can drive all night/Looking for the answers in the pouring rain...") in magical unison. The album ends with Thank You, Happy Birthday closer "Right Before My Eyes" -- one last chance for a sorrowful yet warm performance, enriched with more strings, reverb, and Shultz's pained voice echoing out into the darkness. Unpeeled is a great live album that not only encapsulates Cage the Elephant's ability to honor, reference, and tribute the sonic feel of Zeitgeists past, but ultimately reminds you that all it takes is a simple song with minimal instrumentation about introspection, yearning, or internal struggles to still achieve a huge, soaring sound that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.© Rob Wacey /TiVo

Two of the singles Michael Milosh released ahead of Home had more dancefloor zest than anything off Blood, his previous Rhye album. "Black Rain" started with a somewhat "Billie Jean"-like beat and curlicued strings -- the latter deployed like the second coming of disco revivalists Faze Action -- and turned up the heat with some dramatic thrusts. Milosh finessed the change well enough that the song would've sounded just like Rhye even as an instrumental, without his characteristic sighing vocals and persuasive lyrics. Just before Home was released, Rhye entered Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for the first time as a headliner with "Come In Closer," a lighter number making greater use of the strings and a touch of funk in the bass line. Those two songs, plus a third Roland LeFox collaboration -- the finely woven "Sweetest Revenge," which with its snaking bass line evokes Kleeer's mid-'80s slow jam classic "Intimate Connection" -- ensure that Home is at once unmistakably Rhye and an obvious progression. Milosh's approach as a songwriter and vocalist hasn't changed much. He's still addressing his lover, gently coaxing and assuring her, letting her know how he feels, communicating at all times on an intimate level. Throughout are references to (quiet) storms, waves, and rain made with literal and metaphorical purposes. The prevailing sense of solace (home indeed) is felt deepest in "Come In Closer," where Milosh welcomes a visitor with "You made it through these rough waters, and your hair's still wet/Come in from the cold." The songs made with Blood collaborators such as Itai Shapira, Nate Mercerau, and Ben Schwier aren't retreads, either, still fleet but considerably heftier, as if the word "dainty" was drawn with a slash through it and posted on the walls of each studio where they worked. Another element that sets this apart from Milosh's earlier work is the Danish National Girls Choir, whose recurring presence is stirring rather than the cloying distraction it could have been. This being the Rhye album with the most layers, Milosh was wise to employ the brilliant Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, the Killers) as mixing engineer. Every change pays off. © Andy Kellman /TiVo

Exotic and Latin albums were big deals in the 1950s and early '60s, and singers as diverse as Dean Martin, Lena Horne, and Peggy Lee were recording with castanets and bongo drums. Peggy Lee was so successful at the style that she cut two albums of light pseudo-Latin jazz in 1960. Like Peggy Lee, Julie London combined a restrained vocal approach with jazz phrasing and a cool attitude with icy sex appeal. But while London had Lee's stripped-down musical approach, she just didn't share her unrelenting rhythmic vocal drive or her innate feeling for exotic rhythms. It doesn't help that London is paired with arranger Ernie Freeman, who was usually better at crafting Nashville and soft rock style charts than Latin jazz arrangements. This isn't a bad album -- London sounds casual and confident throughout -- but it is a rather bland one, and isn't blandness what these types of exotica albums are supposed to be fighting against? Latin in a Satin Mood ends up sounding exactly like what it was intended to be -- an aid to put a little vanilla Latin sparkle in suburban American bedrooms. If you want your London in the Latin style, then try her excellent Getz/Gilberto-style tribute to Cole Porter, All Through the Night. Julie London's affinity for West Coast jazz and her melancholy emotional pull were much better suited to bossa nova than to Caribbean Latin music.© Nick Dedina /TiVo

Symphonic metal with prominent pianos and a glamorous female singer -- that would be an unwieldy name for a genre but after enough years of bands that clearly wore their copies of early Gathering CDs into the ground, still appropriate. Thus the sophomore effort by Delain, which has all the flair one would expect for a band that might be the new Evanescence or the new Birthday Massacre or its own self. Or something else again, but the elements on April Rain won't surprise many -- Charlotte Wessels' sweet, soaring vocals; the chunky but polished rampage of the band; the half-AOR, half-snarled thrash; plus, of course, orchestrations galore, as "Stay Forever" delivers from the start. It's an album to enjoy for its ability for the obvious -- for newcomers it might be less so, of course, so it's a chance to enjoy the big pomp and Euro-metal guitars in their own right. Everything does seem like it should be soundtracking the latest Underworld movie, no bad thing necessarily.© Ned Raggett /TiVo

This Norwegian trio follows up its Special EP with this full-length effort, a lightweight but winning mixture of lounge-y ambience, electronic pop, and funky chill-out acid jazz. Its centerpiece is the insanely catchy and fun "Think Twice," which features vocalist Christine Sandtorv and some great cheesy clavinet work by someone billed as the Batmans. But most of the rest of the album is just as good: "Special Morning" is a chilled but faintly sexy instrumental in which faraway whistling weaves around a mellow synth line and softly percolating drums; "Casino" is a greasy retro-'60s romp (this time with vocals from Leslie Ahern); "You Never Come Closer" sounds, believe it or not, like a cross between Sade and the Doobie Brothers. Word has it that their live show involves multiple drummers and "elements of danger." Neither is easy to imagine while listening to this very pleasant album, but it does kind of make you wonder....© Rick Anderson /TiVo

Grand Funk Railroad took longer than usual to make their fifth album, Survival, in early 1971, but when they came to make their sixth, E Pluribus Funk, that September, they spent less than a week at the effort. The rush shows. The album, made by a band by now popular enough to sell out Shea Stadium (depicted on the back of the album, its cover designed to look like a silver coin), consisted of a series of simple rock tunes with lyrics devoted to the joys of music itself ("Footstompin' Music"), social concerns generically expressed ("People, Let's Stop the War," "Save the Land"), and claims of romantic betrayal ("Upsetter," "No Lies"). Lead singer Mark Farner wailed in his limited tenor, joined in unison by drummer Don Brewer, and the rhythm section played in plodding lockstep. Farner added guitar and organ parts that emphasized the simplicity and repetitiveness of the musical patterns. "Loneliness," the concluding track, made a failed attempt at grandeur by adding a symphony orchestra. Six albums in, Grand Funk were still primarily a live band, able to achieve intensity, but with little sense of the varying dynamics and musical textures that might make a studio album interesting to listen to beyond being a souvenir of their live show.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

The two previous full-lengths from H.E.R. were well received, to say the least. Although they were welcomed with acclaim, high chart placements, a platinum certification (for the first one), and a slew of Grammy accolades (for both), H.E.R. has remained insistent that neither was her debut album, as each one compiled EPs and added bonus material. Presented as her true first LP, Back of My Mind plays out like an assemblage itself. It contains an EP worth of previously released material dating back almost two years, and there's enough content -- an amount exceeding that of each compilation -- to fill a compact disc to capacity. This begins with a triumphant exhalation in the form of "We Made It" and then slips into a dim and labyrinthine corridor of slow jams and ballads with the odd subtle switch-up. Along the way, there are more guests than necessary. While Ty Dolla $ign's street gospel support on the title song is a fine match, H.E.R. more often is too accommodating, most so on the Lil Baby meeting "Find a Way," where she drops de rigueur references to her bag, haters, and one of rap's most popular luxury cars. On a more discreet level, however, "Bloody Waters" -- a heady Kaytranada production tricked out with a delectable Thundercat bassline -- is a brilliant sequel of sorts to her Academy Award-winning "Fight for You," another career high point with shades of sociopolitical Marvin Gaye circa 1971 and 1972. A few other songs stick out from the surplus of confessionals, late-night yearnings, and conflicted discourse that drifts along over soft beds of gently strummed guitar and trap-styled boom-and-skitter. The platinum "Damage" transforms Herb Alpert's "Making Love in the Rain" (produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with background vocals from Janet Jackson) from an expression of rapturous release to one of seductive threat. "Cheat Code" is like a follow-up chapter to wistful sample source "The Sweetest Thing" (fronted and co-written by Lauryn Hill); the lilt in H.E.R.'s voice on the hook hits like an unexpected jolt of grief. "Closer to Me" flips an aspirational early 2000s deep cut (by the undervalued Goapele) into a love song yearning for intimate repairment. Like "Bloody Waters," these standouts nod to an inspiration while being unmistakably H.E.R.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

Recorded in 1967 and originally released that same year by Capitol Records as an LP (and re-released seasonally several times since then), Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas is a rarity among rarities in that it is a holiday album that actually holds up as a mature artistic statement. Oh, the songs are familiar, with Fitzgerald tackling 13 standards like "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," and "We Three Kings," but in her hands they become vehicles for her precise yet natural-sounding elocution and subtle, confident vocal phrasing. In other words, she sings these songs like they're fresh and new to the world, and that's no easy task. The end result is one of the best Christmas albums ever made.© Steve Leggett /TiVo

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From the jump, Skylar Grey's sophomore outing, Natural Causes, is drastically different from her debut. An authentic synthesis of her twin roles as both the singer formerly known as Holly Brook and as the co-writer of some of the biggest singles in recent memory, Natural Causes is all Grey's vision. While her first album relied on a few high-profile guests and a radio-ready sound that sounded a bit forced, her follow-up is a lush and fully formed statement that incorporates Grey's own influences and voice. From the misty intro, "Wilderness," which turns the dial to an Auto-Tuned Bon Iver frequency, to the warm acoustic strum of the KT Tunstall-meets-Radiohead "Moving Mountains," Natural Causes capitalizes on atmosphere and mood, opting to skip the scattered production of Don't Look Down and focus on earnestness and vulnerability. For those familiar with her past work, a hip-hop heart still beats on a number of tracks (she even drops a few verses). "Lemonade" bubbles to life underneath pastoral acoustic plucking, while "Off Road" swirls with distorted synths and sampled loops. Longtime mentor Eminem contributes an aggressive verse to "Kill for You" and album highlights "Real World" and "Straight Shooter" infuse an otherwise laid-back affair with energy and attitude (courtesy of the production team KIDinaKORNER). However, as strong as the beat-heavy tracks are, the last five are truly where Grey shines. As atmosphere swells and beats percolate, there's a distinct trip-hop mood that weaves its way through each song: "In My Garden" channels Esthero while "We Used to Be Bad" recalls a bit of Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree. She finishes on the appropriately titled "Closer," a sparse piano number that haunts as well as Bat for Lashes' more heartbreaking ballads. Throughout, Natural Causes is comforting and luscious, the sound of an artist coming into her own.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo